The Knowledge - Eve Ash
CSB has been working for months on an exciting project with film journalist Andrew Urban of Urbancinefile. We’re interviewing film and television practitioners about their business experiences.
Our aim is to develop a deeper understanding about the history of business decision-making in film and television and to share with our audience the wisdom from the accumulated mistakes, experiments and achievements of the contributors.
Eve Ash - biography
Eve Ash is a psychologist, film producer, public speaker and business facilitator. She is the founder of Seven Dimensions (1979) and co-founder of Ash.Quarry Productions.
Eve has produced over 400 training films and videos, and built a successful global business in over 40 countries. She began with comedy training films, inspired by John Cleese, and started with a brilliant creative team including Ted Robinson, John Clarke, Ian McFadyen, Julie McGregor, Graeme Blundell and Peter Moon. Eve set up the co-production of Ben Elton’s Stark and has produced TV series on health and human relations that have sold internationally.
Eve was the 1999 National Winner of the Westpac Business Owner Award at the Telstra Business Women’s Awards and is the co-author of Rewrite Your Life and Rewrite Your Relationships, published by Penguin in 2002 and 2004.
In recent years Eve has been on the boards of Film Victoria and the Australian Film Institute (AFI).
Audio download
Chapter 1 - Background - 9 minutes
- Began in public service, making training films
- Finally recognised as a film maker, inspired by John Cleese (comedy training films)
- Locally made specialist niche
- Used $20,000 in super to fund first film, The Job Interview
- Saw the potential – from health / sex education for government to corporate
- Business developed and evolved into self distribution
Video downloads
Chapter 2 - Business - 13 minutes
- Business grew, left home, bought premises, expanded staff
- Teamed up with Peter Quarry and developed new technique for world market
- Opened in Los Angeles, shot in UK
- Writing most scripts in house
- Australian market used to be 80% - now about 20%
- Turnover about $3 - $4 million
- Lot of competition, but we’re more prolific
- Electronic licencing is new era
- Content focus on ‘soft skills’ - communication, managing staff, etc
- Customers are companies and educational institutions and telcos
- Developing business model for internet for direct to individuals
- Occasionally get it wrong, such as an excellent 1990 environment film; never made our money back
- Also lost on a sales technique film
- DVD has revived some back catalogue
Video downloads
Chapter 3 - Ideas - 13 minutes
- Budgets range from $30 -$100 K – most are series
- A good title would recover costs in 2 years; a bad one in 3-4 years
- Catalogue of 300 titles
- Using several distributors around world, charging licence fees, instead of sales commission
- Digitisation and internet – new challenge
- Would like someone to take the distribution aspect to a higher level
- Want to move to executive producing
- Accidental talking heads program took off
- Motivation: challenges, writing books, fun life
Video downloads
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